Sshhh! Don't say this too loudly, but early signs point to Arsenal becoming a genuine Premier League title contender.
Gervinho, the forward so mediocre final season in his debut for the Gunners, is scoring goals.
Santi Cazorla cheap soccer jerseys, the midfielder hired from Malaga in August, was surely a single in the best summer buys by any Premier League group.
Along with the spongy Manchester United Jersey, leaky Arsenal back 4 has, in maybe the largest surprise so far this season, been transformed into a defense lastly worthy of that name.
Which, once the trophy is handed out in May possibly, all may nonetheless amount to nothing, however once again.
A trip to Manchester City, the defending English champion Real Madrid Jersey, looms Sunday. Arsenal then hosts Chelsea, the European champion, the weekend immediately after that. Losing to each those sides could knock much from the stuffing out of Arsenal just before its season has begun to build any meaningful momentum - just as its 8-2 surrender to Manchester United did early final season.
This time 12 months ago, "we were currently out with the title race," manager Arsene Wenger acknowledged this past weekend.
So to shout any firm predictions now about Arsenal's title prospects is foolish. They could only be whispered, at ideal. But equally foolish were the premonitions of doom and gloom for Arsenal when it sold Robin van Persie to Manchester United in August.
Though Van Persie scored 30 of Arsenal's 74 league objectives last season, his departure could truly be a blessing. Arsenal was over-reliant on him and his leadership as captain. With out him, Wenger can field a more balanced team that is not so focused on one particular man and may tell his remaining players they all must now shoulder far more responsibility and do more heavy lifting.
Gervinho, for instance, seemed at instances last season to possess all but provided up belief that he could score himself. Too frequently, the winger went to get a pass rather than the objective. He was energetic and keen but dithered and couldn't finish. 4 goals and 5 assists in 28 league appearances had been nowhere close to enough. Nor, for that matter, was Arsenal's aim total of 74 -19 fewer than City's and 15 shy of runner-up United. Van Persie's eye-popping season because the league's top scorer merely assisted to mask that not adequate of his Arsenal teammates competed at his level.
But playing much more inside the center of attack against Southampton on Saturday, Gervinho was like a brand new man, dangerous and effective. For the first of his two targets, he invited a sublime chipped pass from Mikel Arteta by sprinting into space behind Southampton's defense. He then coolly sized up goalkeeper Kelvin Davis, shooting between his left post and outstretched left hand. It was incisive and convincing - anything Gervinho wasn't last season.
In addition, it was against a team that played in English soccer's second tier final season and, promoted this season, has one of the most porous defense within the Premier League, conceding 14 targets in losing its very first 4 matches. Two of Arsenal's six targets on Saturday were scored inadvertently by Southampton players. In short, 1 should not read also significantly about Arsenal's fortunes from the tea leaves of this 1, admittedly outstanding, efficiency.
Nonetheless, shifting Gervinho off the wing is an intriguing experiment from Wenger. He is tearing a leaf out of his personal book, because he did equivalent with Thierry Henry, who became Arsenal's record scorer, and Van Persie. Gervinho is dozens of objectives short from being even half the strikers they turned out to become. Nonetheless, watch this space. Olivier Giroud, hired to replace Van Persie, will must start off scoring, as well custom soccer jerseys, if Arsenal is always to have sustained accomplishment this season. But till that happens, because it will, Gervinho looks like a valuable stopgap and perhaps more.
"We transform all wingers into central strikers and each of the strikers into wingers!" Wenger joked. "He is such a terrific mover and he is so swift. So when he is central, when he gets ahead from the central defender Barcelona Jersey, it is tough to catch him."
Even more outstanding is that Arsenal's defenders haven't conceded. Arsenal's only goal-against in four games was a gift from 'keeper Wojciech Szczesny. He dropped a Southampton cross in to the feet of Daniel Fox, producing his goal a formality. That blip aside, Wenger appears to possess absorbed the lesson that a team that's confused and erratic in defense cannot succeed, irrespective of how exciting it really is to watch when going forward. This season, there is certainly more purpose, discipline and concentration in Arsenal's defending.
As to become expected of seasoned players, Cazorla and forward Lukas Podolski appear as if they have been playing with Arsenal for many years, not weeks. By hiring the Spain and German internationals Chelsea Jersey, and Arteta and defender Per Mertesacker in 2011, Wenger sent reassuring signals that he recognizes the value of knowledge, despite the fact that he also prides himself on identifying and nurturing young players soccer jerseys, in component to help keep down transfer charges. Because of Cazorla's cleverness and passing from midfield, the departures of Cesc Fabregas and then Alex Song to Barcelona no longer appear like such damaging losses to Arsenal.
In brief, the vibes from Arsenal so far look great.
Or, as Wenger place it, they're "interesting."
City and Chelsea will tell us if they are over that.
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